Running board for railway cars



March 31, 1942. R. w. BURNETT 2,278,191

. RUNNING BOARD FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed June 28, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet l Ilwenfor warafWBar/zefi March 31, 1942. R, w, BURNETT RUNNING BOARD FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed June 28 1940 I5 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 31, 1942- R. w. BURNETT 2,278,191 RUNNING BOARD on RAILWAY was Filed June. 28, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet s I B3 Ma g Patented Mar. 31, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE":

, v 2,278,191 RUNNING BOARD FOR RAILWAY CARS Richard w. Burnett, Chicago, Ill. I

Application June 28, 1940, Serial No. 342,833 M 4 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in running boards for roofs of railway cars.

An object of ,my invention is to provide an all metal running board structure, simple in construction yet relatively light in weight, but amply rigid and strong for the purpose and which shall be relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

A further object is to provide a running board which shall readily shed water, snow, cinders, and the like, and yet have a tread surface always exposed and in condition for direct contact with the shoes of the trainman to prevent slipping.

My invention consists in the novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described in connection with the accompanying drawings and set forth in the appended claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings which illustrate an embodiment of my invention,

Fig. 1 is a conventional plan view of the roof or top of a railway car, showing my improved running board;

Fig. 2 is an end view ofthe upper portion of the car with the running board mounted there Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of a portion or section of the running board;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal edge view of the structure shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. 4, but of a modified structure;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view partly in section substantially on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional view substantially on the line 1-1 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the assembly of the running board sections in endto-end interlocked relation.

The car roof A shown conventionally represents the usual metal type of car roof having transversely disposed, upstanding ribs A at intervals along its length. My invention is not limited in its application to metal roofs, but is equally as well adaptable to wooden or other type of car roofs. 1

The running board B is shown as extending longitudinally continuously along the roof of the car from one end to the other and beyond the car ends to shorten the space between adjacent carsyas is usual. Adjacent each end laterals C are provided extending transversely from the main running board to the edge of the car, this being the usual disposition of the running board to provide tread surfaces from the ladders at the end of the car.

In accordance with my invention, the running board is made up of units or sections B which are disposed end to end. Each unit or section consists of two longitudinal rails or supporting members D spaced apart the width of the running board, and a tread panel or plate E. The rails support the margins or side edges of the panels or plates E. The marginal rails or sup.- ports D are preferably in the form of angle members having horizontally disposed upper flanges I and downwardly extending vertical flanges 2. At intervals along the roof, these marginal rails are supported above the roof by posts 3 which are secured to the vertical flanges 2 of the rails at their ends and to the roof in any suitable manner. They are preferably welded to the supporting rails and to the usual cross ribs A where the roof is of the metal type. The posts are, preferably of standard angle construction having flanges at. right angles to each other.

The running board plates or panels E are in the form of a continuous piece of sheet metal throughout the length of the unit or section and I the ends overlapped orinterlocked, as hereinafter described, to provide continuity. The sectionsli are made from single sheets of metal and are formed with a series of transversely disposed ribs 5 and channels or grooves 6. The ribs 5 are preferably arcuate in cross section, as shown more clearly in Figs. 4 and 5, and the bottoms l' of the channels between the ribs are preferably flatand disposed all in'the same. plane. The channel bottoms or walls 1 integrally connect with the walls of the ribs at the base thereof.

The formation of the plates with ribs and channels in this manner provides exceptional transverse reinforcement and rigidity to the sec tions suflicient to amply support the weights or loads to which the running board is subjected, and at the same time enablesthe use of relatively thin sheet metal which is both relatively light in weight and less in cost. Furthermore, this formation with ribs andchannels makes the running board self-cleaning in the sense that water, snow, and even cinders and dirt, readily drain away from the upper tread surface and into the channels. To facilitate further draining, the bottoms 'l of the channels are provided with a series of elongated slots or openings 8 through which water, snow and dirt will drain to the roof of the car.

In addition to this, drainage is further facilitated away from the upper or tread surface of the board by a series of holes or openings 9 formed along the ribs in the crowns thereof. In the formation of these openings the marginal portions thereof are struck up to form short tubular flanges or bosses Ill. The upper ends of these short tubular portions preferably all lie in substantially the same plane and provide the actual tread surface for the running board. The edges of these circular flanges are relatively sharp and serve as anti-friction devices which grip the soles of the trainm'ans shoes and insure against slippage. Since these circular flange edges are relatively thin and sharp, they cannot retain either water, dirt, snow, or even ice. These tread bosses and the ribs are so proportioned in size and spacing that there will always be a plurality of gripping devices within the area of the soles of the trainmans shoes.

As hereinbefore referred to, the ends of the sections are arranged to overlap and interlock each other so as to provide continuity throughout the length of the running board. As shown more clearly in Fig. 4, the end ribs of the sections are made on smaller radii so that they will fit within and conform to the normal rib of the adjoining section, thus forming an interlock between the sections.

From the manufacturing standpoint, the cost is minimized and ease of handling accomplished by making the sections or units alike, so that the major portion of the running board can be made up simply by assembling end-to-end a number of these like units. As shown in the drawings, the sections intermediate the end sections are made so that at one end the plate E projects beyond the ends of the rails D to the extent of one rib l4. At the other end the plates terminate at the ends of the rails with the smaller radii rib. Thus in assembling a running board, the overhanging rib M of one unit can simply be overlapped onto and interlocked with the smaller radii rib 5 of the adjoining unit. This is illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 8, wherein the three intermediate units are alike in construction and joined, as above described. It is important to note also that by this arrangement the ends of the plates of the sections are reinforced and strengthened transversely by virtue of the two overlapping ribs. No separate reinforcement at the ends of the unit plates is necessary. The end sections or units E are made shorter than the intermediate sections. The end section used at one end of the running board can be made without the extended rib 14, so that its end rib can be interlocked with the end rib I4 of the adjoining section. At the other end ofthe running board the end section has the rib l4 overhanging so that it can be interlocked with the rib 5 of the adjoining section, thus carrying out the interlocked reinforced joints throughout the length of the board.

In Fig. 4 I have shown the upper horizontal flange I of the longitudinal rails formed with ribs and channels to conform to the ribs and channels of the section plates E so that these ribs and channels will be continuously supported throughout their entire marginal surface. The sections E are preferably secured to the supporting rails by welding at intervals along their length. The ribs of the horizontal flanges l of the rails are provided with openings l coinciding with the openings 9 in the ribs of the plates. As an alternative of this construction, the hori zontal flanges l of the supporting rails may be standard angle members as supporting rails.

Figs. 2 and 6 illustrate the manner in which the overhanging portions of the end sections of the running board are supported. Triangularshaped bracket members I2 are secured to the end Wall of the car and carry at their upper ends a flat saddle plate or bar l3 which underlies the overhanging end of the running board section. The end portions I5 of this plate are offset to provide room for the end portions of the horizontal flange l of the rails, but the main portion of the saddle plate is raised to the underside of the unit plate E to which it is welded. This construction provides suitable reinforcement for the extreme outer ends of the plates E The same unit construction is used as a step or platform F for the hand brake wheel (not shown). This step is supported on the end wall of the car at a suitable point below the top of the car for the trainman.

I claim:

1. A running board for railway cars comprising an elongated sheet metal plate formed with a plurality of parallel alternate ribs and channels disposed transversely of the length of said plate and to the direction of movement of a person along said running board, the ribs being arcuate in section and having openings in their crowns surrounded by struck-up flanges forming tread bosses, and the channels having open ends from which accumulation of snow and dirt is removable, and flat bottom walls all in substantially the same plane the flat walls being provided with a plurality of drainage openings, and supporting rails extending beneath the longitudinal margins of said plate and welded thereto.

2. A running board for railway cars comprising sheet metal plates formed into a plurality of alternate transverse ribs and channels and arranged with the end ribs and channels of adjacent plates overlapped and interlocked to provide transverse reinforcement at the joints, the channels having drainage opening in their bottom walls and being open at their ends, and the ribs having openings in their crowns; struck-up flanges surrounding the margins of said rib openings and with their edges in substantially the same plane and presenting a non-skid tread surface; and rail members extending longitudinally of the car and supporting the sheet metal running board along its longitudinal margins and secured thereto.

3. A running board for railway cars comprising a sheet metal plate formed into a plurality of alternate transverse ribs and channels, the channels having drain-age openings in their bottom walls and the ribs having openings in their crowns; struck-up flanges surrounding the margins of said rib openings and with their edges in substantially the same plane and presenting a non-skid tread surface; and rail members extending longitudinally of the car and supporting the running board along its longitudinal margins and having on their supporting surfaces ribs and channels conforming to the ribs and channels of the running board and welded thereto.

4. A running board for railway cars comprising a plurality of units or sections each comprising longitudinal supporting rails spaced apart, a running board tread plate supported at its longitudinal margins upon said rails and formed with a plurality of transverse parallel ribs and channels, the end ribs of adjacent sections overlapping and interlocked to provide reinforcement at the ends of thesections.

RICHARD W. BURNETT, 

